CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Game Notes DH vs Potomac

Published on June 29, 2013 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


RAIN, RAIN, GO AWAY: While the Blue Rocks and P-Nats were scheduled to begin a three-game series on Friday night, mother nature had other thoughts, forcing the game to be postponed. Friday's game will be made up as part of a doubleheader, tonight at 5:05 p.m., with the second game to follow.

PUT IT IN THE BOOKS!: Sam Selman continued his run of strong pitching, while the Wilmington Blue Rocks offense rallied for three runs in the top of the fifth inning to defeat the Lynchburg Hillcats, 4-1, on Thursday night at City Stadium. The win gave Wilmington its first series victory of the second-half. It was also the club's third triumph in its last four games and got the Rocks above .500 in the second-half standings for the first time.

MILLER TIME: Lynchburg starter Jarrett Miller yielded only two hits through the first four frames. However, Wilmington would figure out the righty in the fifth. Tyler Chism roped a one-out triple to right and scored on an RBI single by Ethan Chapman one batter later. A second base hit by Jack Lopez, coupled with a successful double-steal, moved two men into scoring position for Lane Adams. Coming to bat with little prior success against the Hillcats, Adams delivered a clutch two-run single to make it 3-0 Blue Rocks. In the sixth, Wilmington added one more score for good measure on an RBI single by Jared Schlehuber, before handing the game over to Daniel Hernandez and Spencer Patton. Tossing the final four innings, the duo allowed only two hits and one unearned run out of the bullpen.

CELEBRATION: Thursday's victory gave Wilmington a much needed series win. Having dropped four consecutive sets coming into the game, the Blue Rocks earned their first series victory since June 6, when the team claimed three out of four games against the Carolina Mudcats at Frawley Stadium. It was also the squad's first road-series win since late May, when the club swept Myrtle Beach on the Grand Strand (May 25-26).

HIGH ON A HILL: Coming into the series against Lynchburg, the Blue Rocks were hitting only .188 as a team in six previous games versus the Hillcats. Four days later, that average jolted to a comparatively robust .260. During the series, Wilmington posted double-digit hits in three out of four games. That included a season-high 19 hits on Monday, 11 more on Tuesday, 14 on Wednesday, and then nine on Thursday. Totaling 53 base knocks, it is the Blue Rocks largest output over a four-game stretch this season.

SLAMMIN SAMMY: Sam Selman extended his winning streak on the mound to three games, the longest successful string from a Wilmington starting pitcher this season. For the third straight start, Selman lasted at least five frames, while the victory pulled him into a four-way tie for second in the league lead in victories. Virtually unhittable since a disastrous start against Salem on June 10 (where he allowed eight runs and did not record an out), Selman has yielded only one earned run over his last 16 innings pitched, which includes 10 straight scoreless frames.

TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS: Entering Thursday, Lane Adams had struggled against Lynchburg. Batting only .087 coming into the contest (2-for-23), the Oklahoma native equaled his season hit total against the Hillcats, finishing 2-for-4 and accounting for half of the club's four RBIs. It was Adams' second multi-hit game in his last four contests, while he has hit safely in each of his last five games. Jared Schlehuber also stretched his season-best hitting streak to seven games, courtesy of an RBI single in the sixth. During that stretch, he is batting .370 (10-for-27) with two doubles, five RBIs and four runs.

LOOKING AHEAD..: The Rocks will send right-hander Tyler Sample to the hill in the nightcap. A former third-round draft pick by the Royals in 2008, Sample joined the Rocks from extended spring training on May 29. Since that time, he has made five starts and one relief appearance. Sample's biggest issue has been command. He has walked more than a batter per inning pitched (24BB/23.1IP). Nevertheless, Sample has found a way to allow two earned runs or less in five of his six outings. In his third tour of duty with the Blue Crew, the right-hander spent all of 2012 on the Rivefront. Splitting time between the rotation (15 starts) and the bullpen, Sample posted a 1-9 record and a 5.84 ERA over 28 games. Walks were often a problem for the right-hander, who issued 53 over 98.2 innings. Those problems also presented themselves during Sample's first year at Advanced-A ball. Pitching mostly as a piggybacker with the 2011 Blue Crew, he finished fifth in the CL in walks (58), placed second in losses (12) and led the circuit in runs allowed (95). Taken by the Royals in the third round of the 2008 draft out of J.K. Mullen Prep School (CO), Sample was an All-State selection as a senior, and was also named a Third Team Rawlings Preseason-All American.

Tonight's Doubleheader Starters (Game 1) WIL: RHP Kyle Zimmer (1-7, 5.98) vs. POT: LHP Robbie Ray (6-2, 3.12)

The Blue Rocks will send right-hander Kyle Zimmer to the mound against Potomac in the opener. Zimmer is the jewel of the Kansas City farm system. The fifth-overall selection in the 2012 Draft is the top-rated prospect in the Royals organization according to Baseball America. He also sports the best command and best curveball among all Kansas City minor leaguers according to that same publication. Zimmer is an excellent athlete who excelled in basketball and water polo in high school. He was primarily a position player in high school and during his freshman season at the University of San Francisco, but it did not take him long to pick up on the art of pitching. He has four pitches, including a four-seam fastball that is consistently clocked between 94-98 MPH as well as a deceptive over-the-top curve. Zimmer bounced back beautifully from a career-worst two- thirds of a frame outing on June 7 at Winston-Salem by beating the Salem Red Sox five days later. The right-hander scattered two runs on six hits over six innings to earn the first Advanced-A win of his career. He could not build upon that momentum in his first start after the All-Star break, allowing three runs in the first inning, and four overall in a loss to the Sox. Wilmington is just 2-12 in games when its Opening Day starter toes the rubber.

Robbie Ray has used the strikeout to get outs in 2013. The Carolina League leader in whiffs (95), the lefty has also posted a 3.12 ERA over his first 15 games (good for ninth best in the CL). That is a marked improvement from his first season at Advanced-A, where he posted a 6.56 ERA. Those struggles were largely due to mechanical problems, which often caused Ray to elevate his pitches. Friday will be Ray's 16th start of the campaign. In his last outing against Carolina on Sunday, he picked up the win despite giving up four runs over five innings. The lefty has earned victories in three of his last four starts, including one against Wilmington on May 8. Pitching in a rain-shortened game at Frawley Stadium, the lefty struck out seven while allowing two runs over five frames. A 12th round pick by the Nationals in 2010 out of Brentwood, TN, Ray was committed to playing college baseball at the University at Arkansas, but eventually chose to go pro after receiving an over-slot signing bonus of $799,000. This season the southpaw has made several changes to his motion, including adding a slight twist to improve deception. He throws a fastball (87-91), slurve and changeup.

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Carolina League Stories from June 29, 2013


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